Key Takeaways
- Stefanos Tsitsipas decided to end his brief relationship with Croatian coach Goran Ivanisevic.
- Ivanisevic publicly criticized the Greek standout recently, and he'll now turn back to his father as his coach.
- Tsitsipas spoke about how he's finding joy again in tennis, his next steps, and how winning the Davis Cup would be a bigger accomplishment to him than capturing a Grand Slam title.
Stefanos Tsitsipas in action (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
ATHENS - Stefanos Tsitsipas does not like dictators; he wants to work with people he feels comfortable with. Thus, at the end (will it be the end?) of a turbulent few months, the Greek player ended his brief relationship with Croatian Goran Ivanisevic as his coach and returned to the arms of his father, Apostolos Tsitsipas.
“It's very hard to be around dictators and people who speak negatively and don't feel like family,” said the Greek during an interview in Athens, in which he explained his decisions to reorient his career, which is in crisis.
Some of his statements seemed like a clear reaction to those of Ivanisevic in a recent interview, when the Croatian said that if the Greek does not resolve certain technical, physical, and external issues, “no one will be able to help him.”
This is the dialogue with Tsitsipas this week in Athens, in a joint interview for CLAY and COSMOTE TV, also reproduced by RG Media.
"It was a bit abrupt, it came out of nowhere,’ he initially said about his spontaneous trip to Athens. “I really wanted to play padel, and I knew that Ted (Angelinós) had built two clubs here over the past ten years. I'm very close with Ted, he's a fantastic person, and I thought we should organise this padel event so that there would be a good cause behind it. I'm really into charity and want to help out, so this was a great opportunity to have fun and do something good at the same time.”
He then talked about the bond he feels with people when he's in Greece, especially in the southern suburbs.
"This is my place, these are the people who have supported me all these years, they've done a lot for me, so the least I can do is give something back to my community through this. And I hope in the future I can do even more, because that's the least my team and I can offer. It helps me psychologically to know that something good is coming out of it. It gives me confidence, fills me with joy, and these are important things for me to fulfil, especially since I'm always abroad, playing tennis in a different country every time and don't really get the chance to connect with my people and my community.
So, it's a great opportunity to organise something like this, along with Petros (Tsitsipas), Ted (Angelinós), Paris (Gemouchidis), guys I've known for years, all from the same tennis club. Ted might not be my coach, but he's offered so much—both in terms of tennis and in our friendship, which has grown a lot in recent years."
When asked if disconnecting from tennis and reconnecting with his childhood roots helps him on tour, he said:
“I don’t get the chance to come very often, and whenever I do reconnect with my people, it gives me a deeper emotional value. Right now, I spend most weeks in Monaco when I’m not competing, and every time I come here, I feel the need to visit more often, because it fills me up so much. I feel the love from the people, the love from my family, I remember my childhood, I relive it... That's the secret to life! You can't replace that with anything else."
As for his back, the news seems to be good.
“I feel better. I believe that if I keep going at this pace and keep doing my physical exercises—which are very important and keep me in shape—I put in 3–4 hours of work every day to recover. If I continue doing that and keep the right mindset daily, I believe I'll get back to where I deserve to be.”
After having a good time at the Hopman Cup and enjoying himself with friends in Greece, does he feel he's moved past the bad days?
“I'd say yes. My days over the last few weeks have been filled more with positive moments, moments where I feel like I'm growing and filling in the gaps I had felt for a long time in the past. There was generally a lot of pressure and stress. I didn't realise it until I made some important decisions. Now I feel more relieved, and also closer to the 15-year-old Stefanos, when I was first starting out in tennis. I'm more in touch with that version of myself than I was before.”
As things stand now, Tsitsipas also intends to represent Greece in September's Davis Cup tie against Brazil.
"I want to play Davis Cup. My love for the Davis Cup is immense. I often talk about it with Petros and my father. A Davis Cup title would probably mean more to me than a Grand Slam. Seeing our national team win the Davis Cup would fill me up more as a tennis player than winning a Slam.”
Dreams For Greece
On the importance of hosting Challenger tournaments in Greece, a vision led by his father, he said:
“This was a vision we had for years as a family, but we were held back because my father was too busy with me (laughs). What happened a year ago was actually a good thing, even though it came about in a way that wasn't very nice—from my side, it wasn't the right way, I was overloaded. But it was a good opportunity for him to start something he's very passionate about, and he's doing it very well so far. He plans to bring even more Challenger events, which Greece hasn't managed to do for years. We're heading in the right direction, finding the right things that I believe will take Greek tennis to where it deserves to be. We have plans for even bigger things."
Speaking about last year's incident with his father, he implied that he will return to his team.
“We talked about it, and I had to apologise, because I was clearly in the wrong. We’ve now found a new line of communication and a way to talk to each other so that this kind of thing won’t happen again and so tensions don’t build up. I love my father with all my heart, and what he’s done over the years is truly remarkable. He’s helped me through tough times, and during my most successful moments, my family has always been there. I don’t want to be apart from them. Tensions may rise again—I might feel overwhelmed again—but the relationship I have with my father, I won't find that anywhere else.”
The conversation turned to Rafaíl Pagónis and his run at Wimbledon.
“I watched him, yes! I saw the highlights from the final two or three days ago. He's very impressive, and I can't wait to see him at the ATP level. Hopefully I'll get to play Davis Cup with him. He has huge potential. He looks dedicated and focused on what he's doing. I'm very happy we have such an athlete from our country. He's not just going to be a good player—I believe he'll be an excellent one in the future."
And what advice would he give Pagónis?
“Something I’ve learned over the years is that there were moments when I felt I had to get everything quickly, that I had to achieve certain things within a specific timeframe. My advice to him would be not to rush, and to focus more on improving every day as a player. It’s very easy to have a ‘boom’ moment and think that it’s going to last. That's happened to many athletes. Talent might be enough at times, but dedication and love for the sport can change. The mistakes I made were that I played too much, trained too much, and it ruined my desire to play tennis.
You have to know when to stop. You can't be at 100% all the time—it's not sustainable, especially if you plan to do this for 15–20 years. Always being on the edge... at some point, your mind just can't process it and carry on at the highest level. We saw that recently with Alcaraz in his Netflix documentary. It was very interesting, and gave us a great insight into what it's like to be at the top level. I completely agree with his philosophy. Everyone has their own way of doing things, and if it works for you, you have to keep going your way."
Tsitsipas Takes Jab at Ivanisevic
Finally, he was asked if he has now rediscovered his desire for tennis—and his answer included a veiled jab at Ivanisevic.
It’s very hard to be around dictators and people who speak negatively and don’t feel like family. Being able to build a family through this—people who will not only work with you in tennis but be your friends after your career—that's something I really want to build. My fitness coach Fred (Lefebvre), I intend to have him in my life forever. He's not just someone who will be with me for the next ten years—he's part of my family."
